The Holy Spirit In The Great Tribulation

At our church some people teach that after the rapture of the Church, the ‘grace’ or the ‘Holy Spirit’ will be taken away from the gentiles and given to the Jews. Now we believe that many Jews don’t believe in Jesus because it’s not their time of grace, but ours (the gentiles), and once the Church is gone then this time of ‘grace’ will be given to the Jews. Is this true according to the Bible? If it is, then is it fair to say that who ever remains on earth during the tribulation period, it will be very hard for them to give their lives to God as the Holy Spirit wont’ be there for them to convince them of their sin. Is this true? Thank you for your answer.

A

It would be more accurate to say that the Holy Spirit reverts to an Old Testament style of ministry on Earth. Both Ezekiel 39:29 and Zechariah 12:10 tell of God’s Spirit being poured out on the Jews during Daniel’s 70th week. The Ezekiel outpouring brings them back into an Old Covenant relationship with God at the beginning of that final 7 years, and in Zechariah their eyes will be opened to the Messiah just before the 2nd coming.

But throughout the period, the Holy Spirit will be active among the Gentiles as well. A great many of the tribulation martyrs will be gentiles. Rev. 7:9 speaks of a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language who will have become believers after the rapture. Rev. 20:4 describes the martyrs who will be beheaded for refusing to take the mark of the beast during the Great Tribulation. And in the sheep and goat judgment (Matt. 25:31-46) we see tribulation survivors gathered from all the nations. These are gentiles. The ones called sheep will be welcomed into the Millennial kingdom on earth, signifying that they are believers. Whether martyred or still living, all these believers will have become so through the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

About Grace thru Faith

Jack Kelley published over 9,000 Bible Study resources here from 1999, until the Lord called him home in the fall of 2015. His teachings made the Bible clear and easy to understand, and impacted millions of lives. He is the author of all the teachings here, and all materials are available free of charge! His wife Samantha maintains this site as well as their missionary outreaches.